To play with one for five minutes is to want it forever. Yes, it's pricey, but it's the perfect gift for anyone who's in that stage of life when time is measured in semesters -- or their parents. There are a few minuses: the headset connector isn't standard, for one, and it only takes the Sony Memory Stick Duo memory cards, not the more easily found, less-expensive SD cards.
Apple iPod Shuffle
You might want to remind the intended recipient a couple of times before Christmas that good things come in small packages, because the new iPod Shuffle ($79) is so small it will barely make a bump in the toe of their stocking. It's the closest thing to jewelry yet in Apple's line of jewel-like iPods, and it's gotta be the cutest gift on the planet this year.
The tiny iPod Shuffle is just big enough to find between quarters in your pocket, but it holds 1 Gbyte of music, plays for as much as 12 hours, and it won't break your gift budget. It won't matter if you give one of these to somebody who already has an iPod. They need one anyway, the same way yachts need little lifeboats.
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Ultrasone Edition 9 Headphones
If you have a price-is-no-object person on your gift list this season, here's the gift to give them. The specs on the Ultrasone Edition 9 headphones ($1,499) are definitely high-end -- closed-back design with a frequency range of 8 Hz to 35,000 Hz through 40mm titanium-mylar drivers -- and so is the price.
The Edition 9 design uses speaker placement to create a natural surround-sound effect without additional electronic processing. The headphones include Mu metal shielding to protect the wearer against low-frequency magnetic fields. The ear pads and headband pad are made from Ethiopian hair sheep leather and handmade in Germany. Of course.
The new HPE Aruba 730 series Wi-Fi 7 access points tout high performance, enhanced security, location tracking capabilities, and more.
Verizon is demoing crowd analytics technology that uses 5G along with AI and mobile edge computing to give stadium operators insights into the flow of fans throughout a venue.
As we move closer to fully realizing the potential of Wi-Fi 7, it becomes evident that the RF, signaling, and throughput tests are not merely procedural checkpoints but the pillars of excellence in wireless communication.
